Head of finance · job description template

Head of finance job description

The short answer · updated 3 October 2026

A head of finance job description sets out the role that runs a company’s finance function day to day. The core responsibilities are the month-end close and management accounts, budgets and cash forecasts, the year-end audit and statutory accounts, financial controls and systems, and leading the finance team, reporting to the managing director or finance director.

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Job purpose

A head of finance makes sure the business knows where its money is, where it is going and whether the numbers can be trusted. The purpose line should say that, then name the finance problem the next head of finance has to solve: a close that takes too long, a cash squeeze, a first audit, a new finance system, a lender or investor asking for better reporting.

The title is used at more than one level, so say which version this is. In a growing company the head of finance is often the senior finance person, reporting to the managing director. In a larger one the role runs the team under a finance director or CFO. For the role itself, see what does a head of finance do. Acas publishes an outline job description template whose headings (the main duties and who the post reports to) suit either version.

Key responsibilities

Order the duties by importance and start each with a verb. A typical head of finance job description covers:

running the month-end close and producing management accounts the leadership team can act on;
building the annual budget and the rolling forecast, and reporting performance against them;
managing cash: the cash-flow forecast, banking relationships, payment runs and credit control;
preparing the year-end and the statutory accounts under the right standard, such as FRS 102, and managing the external audit;
owning tax compliance with advisers: VAT, corporation tax and payroll taxes;
designing and running financial controls, approval limits and reconciliations;
leading, hiring and developing the finance team;
running and improving the finance systems, from the ledger to reporting tools;
partnering with sales, operations and the leadership team on pricing, costs and investment decisions;
preparing board and lender reporting, and supporting any fundraising or due diligence.

Reporting line and scope

Say who the head of finance reports to: the managing director or chief executive where they are the senior finance person, or the finance director or CFO where there is one. List who reports in: usually the financial controller or finance manager, management and financial accountants, and the payroll and credit control staff. Name the functions that sit elsewhere, such as treasury or tax in a group.

Say whether the role attends the board or an audit committee, and for which items. The head of finance is rarely a statutory director, but the directors stay legally responsible for the company’s records and accounts whoever prepares them, so the job description should be clear about who signs what. In a large group, the company may also have to name a senior accounting officer, whose main duty is to take reasonable steps to keep appropriate tax accounting arrangements in place. Say whether that falls to this role.

Skills, experience and qualifications

No qualification is required by law to be a head of finance. Most employers ask for a chartered accountancy qualification, and in the head of finance ads ITJobsWatch tracks, ACCA and CIMA are the ones named most often. Describe the experience you need specifically rather than counting years.

a professional accountancy qualification where the job needs one: ICAEW’s ACA, the ACCA Qualification, or CIMA’s CGMA Professional Qualification; CIPFA for public sector roles;
running a month-end close and producing management accounts at a comparable scale;
year-end, statutory accounts and audit experience under the standard the company uses;
budgeting, forecasting and cash management that a board or lender has relied on;
leading and building a finance team;
implementing or improving finance systems;
sector knowledge where the accounting or regulation is specialised, such as revenue recognition in software or regulated financial services.

Fractional head of finance job description

A fractional head of finance works a set number of days a week or month, so the job description narrows. Name the days, the outcomes expected over the first six to twelve months (a faster close, a reliable cash forecast, a clean audit, a new system live, a finance manager hired) and who runs the day-to-day finance on the days they are not there.

Our page on how to hire a fractional head of finance sets out how the engagement works, with the roles open now. Where the brief is board-level strategy, investors or an exit rather than running the function, it is a finance director or CFO brief: see part-time CFO jobs.

A fractional head of finance working through their own company may fall within the off-payroll working rules (IR35). Status depends on how the engagement runs in practice, not on the wording of the job description, and a medium or large client makes the determination. Our IR35 guide sets out the tests.

Interim and permanent versions

Interim. An interim head of finance works full-time for a fixed period, so the job description leads with the situation (a year-end to deliver, a system migration, a team rebuild, or cover while the permanent search runs) and the date or event that ends the assignment. Where the gap is the controls and the close, see interim financial controller jobs; where it is the finance director seat, see interim finance director.

Permanent. The permanent version looks further ahead: the team, the systems and the reporting the business will need as it grows. When the head of finance is hired as an employee, the job title or a description of the work goes into the written statement of employment particulars they must have on the first day, so keep the two consistent. For a permanent search at director level, see finance director recruitment.

We recruit fractional, interim, part-time, temporary and permanent executives, and non-executive directors. For a head of finance brief we send a shortlist of 3–5, each with pay or day rate, availability and IR35 position set out, after our five-stage vetting.

A template you can copy

Copy these headings and write one short block under each. Keep pay out of the job description and state it in the offer.

Job title: head of finance, and whether the role is fractional, interim, part-time or permanent.
Reports to: the managing director, CEO, finance director or CFO, with any board or audit committee attendance; list the team who report to the role.
Purpose: two or three sentences on why the role exists now and the finance result it must deliver.
Responsibilities: eight to twelve duties, each starting with a verb, in order of importance.
Requirements: essential and desirable experience, described specifically, and the qualification only where the job needs it.
Terms: full-time or days a week, location and hybrid pattern, start date, fixed term or permanent, and the pay basis (salary or day rate).

Questions people ask

What should a head of finance job description include?

The job title and type of engagement, who the role reports to and who reports in, the purpose, the key responsibilities, the experience and qualifications required, and the terms. Say early whether the role is the senior finance person or runs the team under a finance director.

How long should a head of finance job description be?

One to two pages is usually enough: purpose, responsibilities, reporting line, requirements and terms. Detail on systems, entities and the audit timetable belongs in the candidate pack and the interviews.

What is the difference between a head of finance and a financial controller job description?

A financial controller job description centres on the close, controls and the accounts. A head of finance job description adds budgets, cash, the team, systems and business partnering, and often board reporting. See the financial controller job description.

How is a fractional head of finance job description different?

It names the days a week or month, the outcomes expected over the first six to twelve months and who runs the finance function in between. See how to hire a fractional head of finance.

What does a head of finance earn?

It depends on the scope, the sector and whether the role is permanent, part-time or interim. Our head of finance salary page sets out advertised pay and the roles either side, each figure with its source.

How do I hire a head of finance?

Decide which version of the role you need, choose between permanent, interim, part-time and fractional, write the job description around the finance problem, and test every candidate on a real task. See fractional head of finance jobs; we send a shortlist of 3–5, each with pay or day rate, availability and IR35 position set out.